Neo-Protestant Work Ethic

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there were some intensely devout protestants who were intensely persecuted. They came to American and brought their harsh belief systems that to this day, affect the psyche of America, let alone the religious landscape.

I was reminded today of one such 'legacy' that our lovely spiritual ancestors left us - the protestant work-ethic. I am the kind of person who prefers what might be considered a less strenous day. I like variation in given tasks. I like to control over how much time I spend on a given item and when in the day I spend that time. I do not do well in a constant stream of work.

Perhaps it is just that the words triggered a series of thought processes in me that I found the marks of PWE in SoJo's email newsletter. Perhaps I am being positively heretical.

SoJo highlighted a Bible study called 'Joy At Work' by Mr. Dennis Bakke. I gave a cursory glance to the descriptor and quickly felt PWE encroaching. After all, how could anyone find joy in a 70 or 80 hour work week, especially, as the descriptor mentions, a CEO at a large corporation? Corporations, let's not kid ourselves, are as a species of organization, tyrannical monsters which prey on the misfortunes of others. It is difficult to see any Christian pleasure in the act of being part of a system which creates and maintains the bondage of so many.

That said, let us hope those Christian brothers and sisters who are so damned to work in such soul-sucking places take action to change the cultures of such organizations. I understand that there is a recent movement of consumers as well as corporations to conscientious investing, resource use, etc. This is definitely a step up, and would certainly increase my joy at work, should I be a cubicle monkey.

We also have to consider several factors about a person whether they might in fact take pride in their work, or dervie some sort of satisfaction from their present occupation. How demanding is the job? If it is too much, it will burn out the person. If it is too little it will lead to politicking and other undesirable work-place behaviors. I could delineate other position aspects, but they would still address the same sorts of issues - i.e. are the employee's workplace needs being met by organization? But let's be serious now, Americans have other issues when it comes to work.

I have heard it said many times, by various professors of mine as well as TV and talk radio hosts (read: Air America, especially Al Franken) that Americans generally do not take all of their vacation time. They fear they will be fired if they do. This is quite the contrast when considering the expectations of workplaces in Germany or Denmark for example. I would not say 'nay' to 6 weeks of paid vacation. Would you?

Americans don't get maternity leave. They don't get sufficient benefits packages. In a country where 'National Healthcare' is a dirty phrase, benefits are essential. Daycare is not provided by employers. It now takes two incomes to support a family in the US (according to a study conducted at Harvard as quoted by the researcher on the Al Franken show...to my memory several weeks ago). I am an Americorps Member at an elementary school. All the teachers (who are, I might add, government employees) with small children navigate drop off schedules at various daycare centers because there is no daycare for the pre-school children located at the school site.

I don't know about you, but when I can have one income, healthcare, affordable housing, and a daycare on my job site, I can be joyful at work. Until then, you better hope I can get there less than 10 minutes late because my boyfriend couldn't drop off the kids at the sitter because he had a morning meeting in the next city. You better hope I don't come to work sick and get burned out earlier than I would normally. AND... you better not expect me to be joyful at work when my work doesn't give me the things I need.